RedDawg#8

Going to need Bogi to step it up if Gallo is out.

Memphis is a really well coached team with a strong defensive identity and solid offensive scheme. Makes sense that they can play at a high level without Ja, defense never quits. And offensively they are not dependent of Ja to create all of their scoring. He is great individually no doubt, but the team is not dependent solely on him for success.

And you were so mean to him Supes, I think you should apologize : )

I would love for Nate to bench everyone and put the end of the bench guys in. You know, the ones who actually practice full court during the season. We need a SPARK, not a rotation.

Don’t tell Calvin Ridley But seriously, we blew it against the Pistons and are doing the same thing against a scrub Portland unit. We are not serious.

I wonder if coach knows that Jalen Johnson can play PF. Missing 2 and we decide to go small instead of trying out the uber athletic rookie who would provide us size and length.

That needs to be drained out. It may even be broken. Jeez that look terrible

It would be simpler, yes. But the spirit of the play in is not to penalize the teams that would have qualified outright to make to the playoffs. The 7 and 8 seeds get 2 chances to win 1 game. There is no single elimination for them considering they are playoff teams by traditional format. The teams that are on the outside looking in, 9 and 10 seeds, are literally trying to play their way “IN” to the playoffs. They have to win 2 games and are a sudden death away from elimination in both games. The pushback for a standard format of single elimination (7-10, 8-9) is that the 7 and 8 seeds did their work during the season and should not have all that work put to waste due to a bad matchup or an off game. The play in was created to account for teams that are playoff worthy but had to deal with Covid or other unforeseen misfortunes. Instead of saying sorry, you just barely missed the cut, they are giving them an opportunity to prove themselves by knocking off the teams right above them. But they have to EARN their way in. They higher seeds only have to defend their spot. That nuance is the only way the owners were going to agree to a playin round. They had to make sure it was easier for 7&8 to keep their spot than it was for 9&10 to back their way in

Tickets were beyond legit. Thanks for blessing me @HawksNWaffles Have to do this again. Thank you!

done, thanks!

holla at ya boi!

29-31 actually. 2-3 without him Not to mention the games we lost when he played through an injury and was visibly hobbled

Sick to my stomach. See y’all in a couple days

Fast paced game. Detroit is pushing and attacking. Gonna be a great opportunity for us to work our transition game on both ends. Something we dont do much of.

Nothing else matters in the standings if we cant win games like tonight The Rockets just dropped the Grizzlies yesterday. You can’t look past any team. Have to take care of business

Did the research, this season alone: Bogi+ Dre starting together = 3-10 record Bogi + Dre in same lineup with Bogi off the bench = 10-7 record Bogi Bench Overall = 11-8 Bogi Starter Overall = 11-18 Bogi Starting with Dre out of lineup = 9-8 Dre Starting with Bogi out of lineup = 4-1 For good measure: Team without Bogi = 9-9 Team without Dre =14-13 Conclusion, I think there is something to my theory that suggests that despite Bogi being pretty good, he and Dre are not necessarily a winning combination for us

I need to do the research but I am almost certain that the numbers of Bogi next to Dre are not as good as Bogi next to Kev or off the bench. That's going mainly off of win loss record and his individual hot streaks.

Im here for it!

All this talk about how we broke Ben Simmons and ended “The Process” in Philly, but nobody ever mentions how we exposed Julius Randle in the playoffs and essentially broke the Knicks franchise as well. I mean we straight up disrespected those dudes from game 1 “it’s quiet as F in here”, to Clint going full WWE mode predicting we would win and send them on vacation, to Trae sabotaging their fans farewell ovation with a disrespectful bomb 3, Logo bow and wave goodbye to the crowd. I understand we had to move on to the next series and stay focused, but I can’t recall a team ever just straight up snatching the heart and soul from an entire franchise and fanbase the way we did. Knicks look ok tonight, but we knocked them all the way back down to humble beginnings and they have not recovered since. All I know is March 22, daddy’s finally coming back home.

Last season when both Hunter and Cam were out, we were basically forced to start Bogi and Kev. Come playoff time we got Dre back, and chose to go with Kev off the bench. We learned very quickly against the Knicks that our 2nd unit lacked scoring and shot creation, so Nate began staggering Bogi’s minutes so that he played with the 2nd unit every minute that Trae was off the floor. Whats my point? With a full arsenal of wings, it really hasn’t been a guarantee as to who should start or not. With Dre healthy, the Bogi/Dre combo hasn’t necessarily been lights out. Both like to dribble. When Dre was injured, this didnt matter next to Kev because Kev is a safety valve type option. Bogi had more room to work. We tried every combination this year and the best results have been with Bogi being option A with the reserves. Bogi is better than Kev. But the team has gelled better with Kev starting. There is more chemistry between Trae-Kev-JC than any other combo on the roster. Next would be Trae-Kev-Dre-JC. The only names on this roster that were here pre pandemic. Bogi could thrive as a starter or reserve. So could Kev. But Kev cannot carry the offensive load for the bench unit. Its best for the team for Bogi to be a 6th man.

I think Kev plays, because if he doesn’t, Bogi may not give him that starting spot back

When you talk about “worse shooting” I think you have to consider types of shots being taken. Clint rarely takes a shot outside of the restricted area. Ayton gets plenty of attempts at the rim too, but his range is pretty good from the FT line in. He also is willing to shoot 3’s and is around 33% this season. You looked at their best 3 years, well Ayton only has played in 4 seasons, one of which was cut short. But looking at this year and last year, he is better from the field than Clint, better from the line, better from 3, and better overall eFG. The fact alone that Clint is sub.500 from the FT line this year, and a career .500s guy compared to .700+ for Ayton is huge. There is no hack-a strategy with Ayton, you have to play him straight up. I think shooting is easily Ayton over Capela.

I will say this. Capela is severely limited on the offensive end. He cant do anything away from the rim. He is also a huge liability at the free throw line. Defensively he can also be taken advantage of if switched on to guards. He was slightly better at everything last season. He has become less aggressive this season as a result of poor free throw shooting. He is afraid to get fouled and to the line, so he doesn’t attack with as much confidence. His mobility is also hampered by that sore foot/achilles that he has been dealing with since last season. We have seen Clints peak. It was last year. 1 year of borderline All-Star level play. Ayton does not have any of the same holes as Clint. His ability to hit the short jumper and post up away from the rim would open up a lot for our already elite offense. People say Ayton is a product of CP3. Well last I checked we have pretty damn good PG in Atlanta who can make any big look good. Harden, CP3 and Young are the 3 best playmaking guards in the NBA. Capela has played next to at least 1 of them every season of his career. Ayton has shown promise before and after his time with CP3. He fits in any system because he can play inside out and not just inside. Defensively, he is more spry at this point of his career than Capela. He does not get abused the same on the perimeter. He has great instincts, and because he can shoot free throws is willing to mix it up more on the offensive end. example: some guys look for contact so they can get to the line. Some avoid contact or pass the ball so they don’t have to go to the line. Ayton is more like the former, Clint the latter. That alone would tremendously elevate our offense. That would allow is to thrive playing inside out and not just outside in. The only issue I see is the money. Not even just compared to Clint, cuz I would pay him more all day every day. But do we have the room to build around Trae, JC and Ayton each on big deals? Ayton is a better player than Clint, but is he that 2nd star we are missing. That missing piece? If not, I don’t think you can justify a Max deal for him. Which is what PHX is currently dealing with. I do like OO as the C of the future for money reasons. He isnt the same claiber player or spacer as Ayton, but his range and FT shooting are a notch above Clint, which is good enough for me.

I know what you mean. Its that finishing kick in the 4th quarter thats been lacking most nights. Something that we dominated doing last season under Nate. Basically what Bogi suggested, that we are not finding ways to close games (overall, not including our last 2 games). If we can get in to that rhythm again, it will bode well for our ability to perform come playoff time. However, the only way to get there is to WIN. We are in such a hole that there is no room for error anymore. We have used up all of our consolation losses, and learning losses. Any loss right now might as well count as 2 in the standings. And every win only feels like 1/2 a game. Thats why it’s important to break off another long winning streak or at least two mini streaks. We cannot even afford b2b losses as we close the season out. I say that to say, “calm, cool, and connected” needs to go in to the dumpster for good. It’s literally desperation time for us.

We were already on National TV against the Bucks this year, and our record this season has been pretty poor in the Nat TV games. Im sure they have noticed that when reviewing their matchups. I dont care either way anymore. I just want our guys to focus on winning right now. There will be all the cameras they could dream of if they can get in to the playoffs.